NA leader receives UNDP, UNICEF representatives

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan receives Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator UNDP’s Resident Representative in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) The top legislator hailed the support of the UN and UNDP for socio-economic development in Vietnam, as well as the contributions of UNICEF to the sustainable growth and the protection of children’s rights in the country. Kamal Malhotra congratulated Vietnam on being the first country in Asia and second in the world to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (in 1990). Since then, the NA and relevant agencies of Vietnam have exerted various efforts to protect and take care of children. He expressed his hope that Vietnam will continue the work towards changing the definition of a child’s ceiling age to that of 18 years old, as stated in the convention. The NA Chairwoman agreed with Malhotra’s proposal, stressing that Vietnam has rolled out specific measures to ensure children’s rights, including building its legal system and the formation of a National Committee on Children. In order to better respond to realistic requirements amidst international integration, as well as fully promote children’s rights, the NA has made comprehensively adjustments to and approved the Child Law 2016, making it coherent with regulations in the convention and other relevant international commitments, she noted. She said that the Children Law 2016 regulates that children are those under the age of 16, but the country’s law defines that only citizens from the age of 18 years old and up can bear… [Read full story]